In “The Homesman,” opening in limited release Friday, she plays Mary Bee Cuddy, an unmarried woman who farms in the spare, hard Nebraska Territory of 1855.

The two-time Oscar-winning actress was indeed born in Nebraska, although she grew up in Washington before moving to Los Angeles at 16 years old to pursue her acting career.

“But all my family is still back in Iowa, and I knew a lot about how Iowa was settled,” she notes. Swank says her father recently told her about one of her ancestors whose life paralleled Mary Bee’s, living in the middle of nowhere with all sorts of threats.

Deemed too “plain” and “bossy” for marriage by the few eligible local men, Mary Bee lives “uncommonly alone.” Yet she perseveres, is charitable and prospers financially better than most of the men.

In the movie, directed by and co-starring Tommy Lee Jones, Swank’s character agrees to take three women back east, across the Missouri River to Iowa, by wagon when none of the men step up to the challenge. The three have been driven mad by harsh pioneer life (not to mention their husbands’ callousness). One is near catatonic, while another is unpredictably violent.

Mary Bee soon rescues a drifter and something of a scoundrel named George Briggs (Jones) from hanging, and prevails upon him to help her on the trip.

“I love how Mary Bee defies stereotypes. Even though she’s tough, she has an underlying vulnerability that I love,” says Swank, her dog — a rescue — curled up by her side on a sofa at the Beverly Hilton.

But Swank believes “The Homesman” is not simply a period piece. “In my opinion, it deals with things like mental illness, the objectification and trivialization of women,” she says, “and that makes it timely. It sheds a light on things I think we should continue to talk about.”

The three women being transported (Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto and Sonja Richter) have lost their sanity for different reasons — one from the death of her children, another by the constant struggle to survive and one by an abusive husband. Sometimes called prairie madness, it was not an uncommon phenomenon during the era because of the severe isolation and deprivations people faced.

While the three women have gone off the edge, Mary Bee walks along it. It is touchingly sad to see how she tries to corral a husband in the opening scenes of the film. Swank’s performance delicately illustrates both the character’s fortitude and her inner despair.

“Nowadays we have ways to deal with mental illness rather than putting a woman in the field of snow and pouring ice water over her,” says Swank, referring to a scene in the film. “It was barbaric.”

Taking on the role of a strong woman is nothing new for Swank, 40. In “Boys Don’t Cry,” for which she won her first Oscar at 25, she played a young woman who passed as a man. She got her second Oscar as a female boxer in Clint Eastwood’s Academy Award-winning 2004 drama “Million Dollar Baby.” She also portrayed famed aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart in “Amelia,” and recently was a pianist fighting ALS in “You’re Not You.”

The actress believes “The Homesman,” from Glendon Swarthout’s 1988 novel, “shines a bright light on what I think is a feminist story.” Jones co-wrote the screenplay with Kieran Fitzgerald and Wesley Oliver, and Swank calls it “a perfect little poem.” She says while Jones was always open to her ideas, they stayed true to the script: “It was beautifully written.”

Swank is the third-youngest person to win two best-actress Oscars. Only Jodie Foster and Luise Rainer (still alive at 104) were younger.

“It’s a complete honor, and I never expected anything like that, especially with a movie like ‘Boys Don’t Cry,’ ” she says.

Now Swank seeks out roles like Mary Bee. “Stories like that make me look at the world in a broader way. I get to grow as an artist and a human being. It’s so gratifying.”

The actress adds that she doesn’t shrug off her responsibility of being a role model. “Over the years, I’ve decided to take that more seriously because I’ve started to understand more.”

Recently, the actress founded her own charity. Called The Hilaroo Foundation, it intends to bring troubled youth together with abandoned animals to help heal each other.

On Thanksgiving, Swank will host the Great American Dog-a-Thon on Fox to promote dog adoption. The show, which she is producing, includes musical performances, testimonies from celebrities like Miranda Lambert, LeAnn Rimes, Betty White, Scarlett Johansson, Fergie, Josh Duhamel, Kristen Bell, Paula Abdul, Kesha and Carrie Ann Inaba.

As a veteran of Hollywood, Swank says she would like to see more equality in the system, but can’t complain herself because “I have a lot of opportunities to play characters that are multifaceted. Yet, I wish there were more of them.”

However, she also notes, “I’ve been doing this since I was 16. So I feel like my reward and my prize are the opportunities I have to live my dream.”

Rob Lowman began at the L.A. Daily News working in editing positions on the news side, including working on Page 1 the day the L.A. Riots began in 1992. In 1993, he made the move to features, and in 1995 became the Entertainment Editor for 15 years. He returned to writing full time in 2010. Throughout his career he has interviewed a wide range of celebrities in the arts. The list includes the likes of Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood to Kristin Stewart and Emma Stone in Hollywood; classical figures like Yo Yo Ma and Gustavo Dudamel to pop stars like Norah Jones, Milly Cyrus and Madonna; and authors such as Joseph Heller, John Irving and Lee Child. Rob has covered theater, dance and the fine arts as well as reviewing film, TV and stage. He has also covered award shows and written news stories related to the entertainment business. A longtime resident of Santa Clarita, Rob is still working on his first more-than-30-year marriage, has three grown children (all with master's degrees) and five guitars.